How can I eat and not waste money?!
How can I eat and not waste money?
I live alone and have a major cost issue that's proven itself time and again. When I buy a half-gallon of milk, which I don't use very often, but is an essential ingredient in many of the bachelor type meals....cereal, mac n cheese, a lot of hamburger/tuna helper...before I finish half, it goes bad. Same way with bread....cereal...lots of things. I've tried refrigerating the bread, and that lowers the quality...and I'm rather picky. Milk just goes bad if you dont' use it fast enough, and buying anything smaller than a half-gallon just isn't cost effective. Cereal is something I enjoy, but maybe twice a week or so, and before I finish half a box, it's gone stale. Anyone have any ideas on how to help a single man stop wasting food?
Answers: Buy a Tupperware cereal keeper. Keeps cereal fresh. Been using the same one for twenty years and it has never failed me. Buy canned evaporated milk, the little cans and dilute with equal amount of water for recipes. Get a big canning jar and pour half your milk in it and put the half in the jug in the freezer when you first get it. Then when you run out of milk for cereal, thaw out the jug. AND YES< YOU CAN FREEZE MILK, BEEN DOING THAT FOR 20 YEARS.
Also, you can buy smaller boxes of cereal at dollar tree and some dollar stores. Same cereal just a smaller box for a buck.
As for bread, we have a box from tupperware we put ours in, but unfortunately, because we aren't big bread eaters, it sometimes would go bad, our solution, save half the loaf in the freezer for toast. It doesn't taste any different when toasted and then you still have fresh out to eat. Or sometimes, we take it to the park and feed the ducks. Get a dog, go to the park and feed the ducks and bacholer may have company.
Those little cans of milk are 2/3 cup btw. I use them straight for my recipes, but because they are concentrated, most people add water. Really up to you.
If you can get used to the taste of powdered milk, buy some and keep it in tupperware for freshness. Then keep cold water in the fridge at all times, then all you have to do is mix the milk and use. just buy those half gallon milk, buy smaller boxes of food and have things in moderation, you can always try freezing things that u won't use for a long time. Eat ramen every meal, you will get fat but o well 15 cents a meal WOOT!!! milk you can either freeze or try using powdered milk.
cereal should stay fresh for a long time , maybe you need a plastic storage box thats airtight, or you can buy the single serve boxes in a variety pack.
Low price is only good if you use all of it , it may be costing you more in the long run because of wastage
Bread you can buy smaller loaves , or freeze some and use it for toast. Personally I like to use evaporated milk for some things- I dump one can in a qt jar and fill it up with water. I use it up pretty good but you could freeze leftover milk in ice cube trays and then use as needed. I suggest you find a good store like Winco Foods where you can buy in bulk bins, then you can get small amounts of cereal or ??? as needed. Freeze bread, don't refrigerate. If the bread does get dried out toast it or make french toast. You might try good quality powdered milk as you can mix up as needed. A vaccume sealer might also extend the life of your foods. But you'll have to figure out if it would be worth the cost It would be cheaper to buy a smaller amount of milk and have it fresh than buying a larger one and throwing half away. Bread doesn't keep good in the fridge but keeps excellent in a freezer If it's frozen then you can just pull out the amount you need for the day. Cereal should keep for many weeks if you keep it in an airtight plastic container I have the same problem...especially with milk. What I do, is if I have good milk in the house I have cereal, and make the hamburger helper that requires milk (there are many flavors that don't...I save those for when i am out of milk) I also sometimes buy the "long shelf life milk" I live in Europe right now and i had never heard of it until I was here...but I bet it can be found in the states...it has some kind of preservative and last like a month or more. I don't really like the taste plain, but for cooking it is fine.
As for bread, what I do is me and a neighbor split a loaf, or I freeze half. Also depending what you use the bread for, if you get the Pillsbury oven biscuit things, you can make them anytime and you can even make little sandwiches out of those. Eat less. Storage. You can put cereal in tupperware and that will allow it to last longer (not the cereal holder just general tupperware) You can try and freeze half your milk, it will help. And just eat more bread, or buy a smaller loaf. Cost effectiveness works when the item is used not wasted. Remember that. Fortunately for me I never have a problem with these items and I too, am single. I also must say that hamburger helper isn't the best thing, just eat loose meat sandwiches that will use your bread too. Eggs work better than cereal too. Just because you are single doesn't mean you should eat crap. Drink more milk......add chocolate to it if you have too, it is filling sometimes. Buy jam and peanut butter I bet you will use your bread more and your milk. Eat at home MORE, and out less. You will use up these items and really be in a more cost effective situation. Good Luck...... Buy a quart of milk, it may be a bit more expensive, but if it is going to waste, you’re not really saving anything. You could get those tiny boxes of cereal, but that is more expensive. You could use a plastic container or a Ziploc bag to store cereal in the bigger boxes. I refrigerate bread, if you don’t like that, you could freeze or refrigerate half the loaf, or see if someone will split with you. You could also just buy a couple of bagels and a couple of rolls at the grocery store, you would probably pay as much as for a loaf of bread, but you could choose what you need. Check this out.
1. If you buy soymilk in the boxes, it will keep out of the fridge for a year or so. A case of 12 boxes of organic soy milk at Costco costs 11.99! It's the way to go there.
2. For things like cereal and snacks, go to your local health foods store and buy from the bulk foods section. You save money by not paying for packaging on everything.
3. If you bring your own bags to the store, it's 5 cents off per bag that gets used.
4. By locally produced food. The food stays fresher longer and has also not been marked up due to transportation costs. Hit farmers markets and the like if you can.
5. You can freeze or refrigerate bread and it stays fresh longer without taking away from the taste.
6. Start a compost pile. Rather than just throwing out your food, turn it into soil that you can use to later grow more food like your own veggies and fruits.
Hope you found something useful here. Good for doing your part not to waste!